Elon Musk is planning to take away dates from X posts, cost new customers $8 as sign-up charge – Firstpost

Elon Musk is reportedly planning vital adjustments to X, the platform previously often called Twitter. Among the many potential updates are the elimination of date stamps from posts in the principle timeline and an $8 sign-up charge for brand new customers. These proposed adjustments goal to reshape X’s performance and income mannequin however have already sparked issues amongst employees and customers.

Eradicating dates from posts would mark a serious departure from one of many platform’s unique options, which helped present context and chronological order to tweets. In the meantime, the sign-up charge is a part of Musk’s technique to fight bots and bolster X’s funds, as promoting income has plummeted since his takeover.

Goodbye to put up dates?

The concept to take away dates from timeline posts stems from Musk’s want to enhance the platform’s aesthetics, in line with insiders. Whereas dates would nonetheless seem when customers click on on particular person posts, the principle timeline would lose this important contextual characteristic. Musk reportedly believes this alteration aligns along with his mantra of optimising X’s design, the place “each pixel counts.”

Nevertheless, many X staff have voiced issues concerning the transfer, saying it may create confusion and exacerbate misinformation. Most customers hardly ever click on by way of to particular person posts, which means the absence of dates may depart them with out very important context concerning the info they see.

The characteristic has been a staple of Twitter’s design since its inception, offering readability and serving to customers observe conversations in actual time. Eradicating it might considerably alter how customers work together with content material on the platform. Whereas discussions concerning the change are ongoing, there’s no assure it is going to be carried out. Musk has a historical past of introducing design tweaks, testing them briefly, and generally reversing course, as seen with previous changes to hyperlink previews.

The $8 sign-up charge

One other notable change into consideration is an $8 charge for all new customers signing up for X. The charge, which incorporates one free month of X Premium, is being positioned as a method to combat bot accounts whereas additionally producing income. Internally, Musk has reportedly referred to as this strategy “the one method” to make X worthwhile.

This isn’t the primary time Musk has experimented with person charges. A earlier check within the Philippines and New Zealand launched a nominal $1 charge for brand new customers, which X described as a bot-fighting measure moderately than a income stream. Nevertheless, the brand new $8 charge seems to be aimed squarely at boosting X’s funds.

With many advertisers fleeing the platform over issues about hate speech and different offensive content material, X has been trying to find different income sources. Nonetheless, requiring customers to pay for entry is a uncommon transfer within the social media panorama, the place platforms like Fb and YouTube depend on free entry to drive advert income.

A platform in flux

Since Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022, the platform has undergone dramatic adjustments. Musk has lower over 75 per cent of its employees, together with members of the belief and security workforce, and relaxed moderation guidelines within the identify of “free speech.” These strikes have led to criticism, with many accusing Musk of prioritising aesthetics and cost-cutting over person expertise and security.

The deliberate updates come as X faces mounting challenges. Its advert enterprise is reportedly lower than half of what it was earlier than Musk’s takeover, and person numbers proceed to say no. Charging new customers and making controversial design adjustments could assist X within the brief time period, however additionally they threat alienating its current neighborhood.

Whereas Musk’s concepts could align along with his imaginative and prescient of a smooth, environment friendly platform, they spotlight the rising pressure between innovation, income era, and person belief. Whether or not these adjustments will convey the outcomes Musk envisions — or push extra customers away — stays to be seen.